I installed the mansard cornice last night. It’s helpful to have someone assist you with this step, as one person can hold one end while you apply pressure. Ensuring the dollhouse is straight during construction is crucial; if it’s even slightly out of shape, the cornice won’t fit. It went in easier than I expected, although I did need a mallet. I left it taped up to dry overnight.
Next, I started on the foundation trim. I'm doing this now because I want to side the dollhouse, and the siding can’t be applied until these pieces are in place. Each piece is numbered, but once painted, the numbers will be hidden unless noted on the back. Mine were on the front, so I aligned them in numerical order to keep track of them after painting. While some foundation pieces dried, I painted the mansard cornice from yesterday and then glued it on, using paper clamps to secure it tightly.
Gluing the bay walls was straightforward; everything fit perfectly. I also glued on the top roof cornice and began siding while the roof dried. I’m using Aleene’s Quick Grab glue for siding before adding other components because I prefer the finished look. This requires good-quality glue since hot melt glue may not hold up under pressure from other parts. As I side, I cut around window openings; it doesn’t need to be perfect since window trim will cover any imperfections, but it should be close enough to avoid gaps when positioning the windows. The siding doesn’t need to reach the roofline since fascias will cover that area. I measured lap widths for the siding using an Emory board. Remember that trim lengths are only 12 inches, so for longer walls, you'll need to join two pieces of siding at a window opening to hide the seam. If that’s not possible, stagger joints to avoid a straight line up the wall. I used masking tape at wall corners and paper clamps around windows. For any slots in the wall, I cut matching slots in the siding to ensure a proper fit.
Be careful with the barrel roof and gingerbread arch trim at the front of the dollhouse. You need to position the trim piece and trace its outline on the dollhouse so you know where it goes. Avoid siding behind this trim; otherwise, you’ll see siding lines through any holes. Trim should follow an arch based on your tracing. I applied siding slightly beyond the traced line without covering any holes so that the trim can sit over it. After finishing, I dry-fitted the trim again to ensure everything looked right.
Also, remember that there’s a hole in the top pediment of the window trim. If a siding line crosses this hole, you can add a piece of thin cardboard behind it to hide the line and paint it before gluing it in place. Applying windows after siding will be easy since these windows have no casings; their trims sit around the window rather than inside it. This means I can attach acetate windows later in the process without obstruction from exterior trims. Binder clips will help hold window trims tightly around openings without blocking anything.